The Gravest Threat (Episode 8)
by Zanza8
Summary: Judy and Finnick join forces when Nick is shot.
1. Chapter 1

_Racism is the gravest threat-the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. Abraham Joshua Heschel_

Nick tightened the wrench another turn. "Try it now." Sister Margaret turned on the water and the fox peered anxiously at the pipe to see if there were any drips. "Looks good!" He came out from under the sink and started washing his paws.

Sister Margaret bent down to look for herself, then straightened, smiling. "Nicholas, you are indeed a blessing. I was afraid I would have to call a plumber."

The fox shook his head. "They charge sixty dollars to walk in the door and say what their rate is to check the pipes. I'd rather lose a day's pay than have you spend that kind of money."

The badger looked alarmed. "Nicholas, you didn't…"

"No, luckily it's my day off. All I have planned for today is lunch with Judy." He glanced at the clock. "I still have time. Anything else need fixing?"

"Everything else." Sister Margaret smiled ruefully. "Sometimes I wonder how I've kept the roof over our heads this long."

"So do I." Nick dried off his paws. "Tell you what, you make a list of what's most urgent and Judy and me will both come next time. Might even bring Finn."

Sister Margaret brightened. "That would be wonderful. I could make blueberry cobbler just the way you like it."

The fox laughed. "For your blueberry cobbler, I really would take a day off work."

"I'd rather you didn't." The badger and the fox walked out to the porch. "If that's what you want, I'll have a big long list ready for your next day off, but Nicholas, you should take some time for yourself. Judith too. You both do far too much for us."

Nick didn't answer for a moment, then he smiled, a sweet smile not often seen on his face. "Coming here _is_ time for myself, Sister. Judy feels the same way. Even Finn. If we didn't, we wouldn't come. You know that."

"I know." The badger patted his arm. "Three guardian angels."

"I'm going to tell Finn you called him an angel," the fox snickered.

"Don't you dare!" Sister Margaret chuckled. "You'd better get going. You don't want to be late for lunch with Judith."


	2. Chapter 2

Judy pulled out her cell phone and checked the time, then beckoned to Angie. "Nick didn't call, did he?"

"He'd call your cell before he'd call the diner, wouldn't he?" asked the otter waitress.

"He would." Judy laughed nervously. "It's just not like him not to let me know if he's going to be this late." She jumped as her phone rang. "Finally!" She put it to her ear, then went rigid.

Angie watched nervously as Judy hung up her phone and put it slowly in her pocket. "Was that Nick? Did he say why he's so late?"

"Can you call me a cab, Angie?" Judy's voice was curiously expressionless. "I have to get to the hospital. Nick's been shot."

" _Shot!_ What...how…" Angie closed her mouth abruptly as she looked into Judy's eyes. As calm as she sounded, the bunny's eyes were blank with terror and the otter turned and ran to the phone, then hurried back after making the call. "They're on their way. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, that's okay." Judy patted Angie's paw. "I'll call you as soon as I can."

She went out the door and waited for the cab, got in and directed the driver to Greenwood Community Hospital, paid him and tipped him generously when they arrived, and went into the lobby. A rhino cop walked her to the elevator and she got on, all the while hearing Chief Bogo's voice on the phone, over and over and over. _"Hopps, I'm at Greenwood, the intensive care unit on the fifth floor. Get over here. Wilde's been shot."_ There might have been more but the bunny hadn't heard what else the chief said. It didn't matter. Whatever had happened, she and Nick would get through it. They'd been through so much, as long as they were together, they could face anything. As long as they were together. What if...what if...Judy pressed her paws over her eyes, trying to shut out the thought of a life without Nick. It wouldn't be _living_. It would just be _staying_. What would it be like to stay in a world that didn't have Nick Wilde in it? The elevator doors opened and Judy dropped her paws and walked slowly into the hall. Another cop, a wolf, was posted in the hallway and he gave her a sympathetic look as Chief Bogo called to her. "Hopps! Over here."

The bunny took a deep breath, balling her tiny paws into fists as she went over to the waiting area. "Nick?"

"He's still in surgery." Bogo pointed to a chair. Judy sat down stiffly and after taking a chair himself, the chief continued. "He was doing some volunteer work at Thorneycroft and he was ambushed when he left."

More horror. "Did the children see it?"

"One of them did. I spoke to the badger who runs the place, Sister Margaret. She heard the kid screaming and ran outside and found Wilde. It's possible he might be able to give some information about the shooter, but he was in shock and couldn't tell her anything. She's hoping you might be able to talk to him."

"Of course." Judy's mind shied away from the thought of Nick lying in his blood and she caught at a tangent. "Would you like some coffee, sir?"

Bogo shook his head and patted her shoulder, a gesture totally foreign to him but so compassionate the tears she was holding back began to trickle down her cheeks. It was at that moment a beaver in scrubs came out into the waiting area and Bogo stood up. "There's the doctor."

Judy jumped to her feet but the beaver motioned for them both to sit down and pulled up a chair. "Officer Hopps, do you remember me?"

"Chief Bogo's friend, Dr Furrier." The bunny managed a wan smile. "You took care of me when I had food poisoning."

He smiled back. "And you recovered completely. I hope the same will be true for your partner, but you must be prepared." The doctor's face turned very serious. "If he gets through the next twenty-four hours he'll have a good chance for a full recovery, but to be honest, I'm surprised he's made it this far." He went into great detail about Nick's condition and Judy caught a stray word here and there but none of it made any sense. There was only one thing she could think of now.

"Can I see Nick?" she asked.

The doctor shook his head. "He's in a coma and his condition is unstable."

"Ian," said Bogo softly, "it won't really make a difference just for a couple of minutes, will it?"

Furrier sighed. "I don't suppose it matters one way or the other. Officer Hopps, I'll take you in, but you can only stay for a moment, do you understand?"

Judy licked her lips. "I understand."

The three animals went down the hall to Nick's room and Furrier opened the door. "Remember, it's absolutely essential you remain calm and quiet."

Judy nodded and looked inside, her breath catching as she saw Nick so still in the bed, his chest heavily bandaged, IVs in both arms, equipment around him to measure his fragile hold on life, an oxygen mask clamped to his face. "Doctor, that mask…"

"I know about Officer Wilde's history with muzzles," said Furrier reassuringly, "and I've given strict orders that if he shows any sign of waking up, the mask will be removed, but right now he needs it to breathe."

Judy nodded, then went slowly up to the bed and lightly touched the fox's arm. "Nick." There was no response and she just stared at his face until Dr Furrier came in and guided her out into the hall.

Chief Bogo looked uncharacteristically helpless. "Do you need a ride home, Hopps?"

"No, sir." Judy took out her cell phone. "I'm going to call a friend."

"Very well." The cape buffalo looked into the room at Nick and his jaw tightened. "I'll have him watched around the clock just in case whoever did this tries to finish the job, but I want you to take some time off, Hopps. At least a few days."

Dr Furrier nodded. "I concur. This is no time for you to be out on the street."

"Thank you, chief." Judy looked appealingly at the doctor. "Take care of him."

"I will," he said.

Judy made a vague gesture of farewell to Bogo and Furrier, then started towards the elevator, dialing her phone. "Finnick? I need a ride."


	3. Chapter 3

Judy slumped in the seat next to Finnick, silent until he made a second wrong turn. "This isn't the way to my apartment."

"We're going to my place," said the little fox gruffly. "Nick'll have my head if I let you sit around that dump all by yourself."

"Nick's going to die."

The van swerved. "You don't know that."

"The doctor knows that." The bunny stared out the window. "He didn't say it, but I could see it in his eyes."

Finnick drove another block. "Did Nick ever tell you how we met?"

"He said he stopped a cop who was beating you up." Judy smiled a little. "And that he was sick and you took him to a clinic to get taken care of."

" _Those_ doctors said he was going to die," said Finnick grimly. "They said I brought him in too late for them to do anything for him and the only thing I could do was make him comfortable until it was over."

Judy frowned. "Nick never told me that."

"I never told him." Finnick shrugged. "I wasn't going to tell a kid he was going to die. I did what I could and hoped for the best." He pulled up in back of his garage and turned off the van. "Nick is tough as nails. He made it then and he'll make it now, Judy."

"I hope you're right." She opened the door of the van and got out, waiting quietly while Finnick went around to the back of the van and took out a suitcase. "Is that mine?"

"Yup." Finnick grinned shamelessly. "I told your landlady you were on a stakeout and you needed some of your stuff. You might want to think about moving one of these days, she didn't even ask my name."

"I would miss the crazy neighbors." Her voice broke. "I would miss Nick." The brave front she had maintained since getting Bogo's call crumbled and she fell to her knees, sobbing. Finnick dropped the suitcase and went to her, putting his arms around her and holding her until the tears stopped.

"You done?" he asked.

Judy looked up and saw Finnick's eyes liquid with sorrow. "Aren't you worried at all?"

He blinked rapidly, fighting back his own tears. "Nope. I told you, Nick's going to be just fine. Only reason I'm putting up with you now is so he don't give me a hard time when he gets out of the hospital." He went back and got her suitcase. "I suppose I have to carry this upstairs." He unlocked the door to the garage and held it open for her and Judy stood up. She was still sick with fear for Nick but somehow Finnick had lightened the burden.


	4. Chapter 4

Sister Margaret put the teapot on the table, straightened the milk jug, and took the lid off the sugar lumps. "Would either of you like some breakfast?"

Judy put her paw out. "Please, Sister, sit down. You look exhausted."

"I am." The badger took Judy's paw and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I don't think I've stopped moving since I saw Nicholas." She pulled out a chair and sat close to the bunny. "I keep thinking if only he hadn't come by yesterday...In my head, I know I'm not responsible, but in my heart…" The badger's voice shook. "In my heart, I feel that it's all my fault."

"Don't be stupid," said Finnick roughly. "Ain't nobody's fault but the bastard that shot him." Judy glared at the little fox and he glared back. "What? Nick would say the same."

"Nick wouldn't call Sister Margaret stupid," snapped Judy.

The badger shook her head. "He wouldn't _say_ it, Judith, but I'm not so sure he wouldn't _think_ it. Here I am, feeling sorry for myself while Nicholas is the one who is suffering."

"Is Nick going to be okay?" asked a very small voice.

They all turned and saw a little possum standing in the doorway, his eyes huge. Judy held out her arms and he scampered to her and climbed in her lap. Her throat was tight, but she managed to say in a fairly cheery tone, "Eddie, the doctors are doing everything they can for Nick. And he's young and strong…"

"Young!" Eddie regarded Judy with amazement. "He's more than thirty years old!"

They all laughed then, a genuine laugh that eased the pain in their hearts, and Judy hugged Eddie tightly. "Well, Nick might not be young, but he is very strong."

"Will that help him get better?"

Judy smiled. "I think it might."

Eddie met Judy's eyes. "I saw Nick get hurt," he whispered.

"I know. Sister Margaret told me." The little possum was silent and Judy asked very gently, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

He gulped and nodded. "I was playing in the yard. And Nick came out and he played catch with me, and then he said he had to go." Eddie rubbed his eyes. "And a car drove up, and they called to him, and he turned around, and they hurt him." Tears started running down the little face. "Nick fell down, and there was blood. Like when I cut my paw, only it was a _lot_ of blood." He buried his face in Judy's shoulder, sobbing hysterically, and she rocked him and murmured to him until he calmed down.

Finnick took over. "What kind of car was it, kid?"

"I don't know about cars," Eddie sniffled. "I'm too little to drive."

"Do you know if it was a big car or a little car?" asked the fox patiently.

The possum thought. "It was a big car. A _really_ big car."

"That's good, Eddie," said Judy encouragingly. "Do you remember what color it was?"

"Red. And it had those spinning things on the wheels."

Judy looked puzzled and Finnick explained, "Spinning hubcaps. They're the latest thing." He smiled at Eddie. "You're doing great. What else do you remember?"

"There was a picture of a fox on the car. A fox in a circle."

Sister Margaret got a piece of paper and a pencil and drew a sharp face with pointed ears, then drew a circle around it. "Like this?"

Eddie shook his head and Finnick took the paper and pencil and drew a target with a fox face, then put intersecting lines with the face in the middle of the crosshairs. "How about this?" Eddie nodded and Finnick balled up the paper, crushing it in his paw.

The little possum looked scared. "Is that a bad thing?"

Judy said quickly, "It's okay, Eddie. We're going to find who hurt Nick and they're never going to do anything like that again."

"I wanted to go to the hospital and see him but Sister Margaret said they don't let kids in," said Eddie sadly.

"They don't, but I'm going to see Nick today and I'll tell him…" She choked up for a moment, then went on easily, "I'll tell him you said hello and to get better soon, okay?"

The little possum jumped down from Judy's lap and ran out of the room, then came back with a stuffed bear. "Can you give this to Nick?"

Judy took the bear. "I'll put it right next to his bed so he can see it all the time."

She left with Finnick and they were several blocks from the orphanage before she finally asked, "How did you know about the target?"

Finnick's paws tightened on the steering wheel. "I've seen it before on bumper stickers."

"I never saw it."

"You're a rabbit."

Judy's nose twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

The little fox sighed. "Don't race your motor. It's just...you know how foxes are hated. Nick and me conned you but you saw how that elephant acted. Nobody had a problem with him, and it's not like there's laws saying you can't discriminate against foxes. The only way we ever got anything is if we were hustling." He looked at her keenly. "And you didn't think foxes were so great when you met us, telling Nick he was a great articulate dad like foxes are bad and he was the exception and the whole time you had that fox repellent on your belt." Judy made to speak and Finnick held up a paw. "I ain't blaming you. I'm trying to explain something here. When everybody hates you, you notice things like that bumper sticker. It's free speech so animals got a right to put it out there. But you're a rabbit and it doesn't affect you, so you don't see it."

Judy was ashamed. "But I _care_ about Nick. And you're my friend too, Finnick. I _should_ notice things like that."

"Maybe now you will." They drove the rest of the way to the hospital in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

Getting on the elevator at Greenwood, Judy said softly, "I meant what I said, Finnick. You're my friend too."

She looked very downcast and Finnick said gruffly, "Just 'cause we're friends don't mean you got to be all mushy about it." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into chaos. An alarm was beeping and a weasel in a nurse's uniform ran past pushing a crash cart while Furrier shouted, "Hurry up! We're losing him!"

Judy grabbed Finnick's paw and they hurried down the hall to Nick's room. They stood near the door, watching tensely as nurses administered CPR and Furrier charged up a defibrillator. "Clear!"

Judy's paw tightened on Finnick's as the paddles jolted Nick and a heartbeat registered, then flatlined. Furrier swore and shocked Nick again and this time the heartbeat that fluttered into being steadied and continued. The doctor stepped back, wiping his face. "I want another complete blood panel. We've got to get his electrolytes balanced or he's not going to make it." He turned and saw Judy and Finnick and his shoulders slumped, then he rallied and stepped out into the hall, closing the door softly behind him. "I can't say I'm sorry you were here, Officer Hopps. You should know it doesn't look good."

"Doctors don't know everything," said Finnick coldly.

Furrier raised his eyebrows at the little fox. "And you are?"

"This is Nick's best friend, Finnick," said Judy hastily. "Finnick, this is Dr Furrier."

"Whatever." Finnick looked pointedly at the door. "I suppose you ain't letting us in there."

"You suppose right." Furrier rubbed his forehead. "Officer Wilde's condition is extremely critical. He lost so much blood we had to replace almost the entire volume in his body and we can't seem to get his blood chemistry to stabilize."

Judy felt faint. "What are you saying?"

"What they always say," snapped Finnick, glaring at Furrier. "Doctors is useless, they always just figure you're going to die."

Furrier looked at the bunny and the fox with compassion. "I'm not giving up. Your friend is still alive and I'm doing everything I can for him, but I want you to be aware of the possibility…"

Finnick cut him off. "We're aware." He looked at Judy. "You ready to go?"

She held up Eddie's stuffed bear. "One of the children at the orphanage wanted Nick to have this."

The doctor took the toy. "I'll keep it in my office until he's well enough to have it in his room."

"Do you think he ever will be?" Judy whispered.

"I think," said Furrier judiciously, "that going by his friends, Officer Wilde has a lot to live for."


	6. Chapter 6

Judy prowled restlessly around the garage as Finnick checked his ledger, methodically taking note after note as he turned the pages. "Are you ever going to tell me what you're doing?"

"When I'm done," he said absently. "More you bother me, the longer it takes."

She resumed her pacing until half an hour later when he closed up the ledger and pocketed the notebook. " _Now_ will you tell me what you were doing?"

"Writing down the names and addresses of all my fox customers."

The bunny glared. "You said you were doing something to help find out who shot Nick."

"What makes you think I wasn't?" Finnick glared back. "You think whoever it was just woke up and decided to go out and shoot a fox? I ain't heard about no other random shootings. Have you?" Judy shook her head and Finnick went on. "I figure whoever it is started out small. They hate foxes, so they got the bumper sticker. Then maybe they went over to Fox Alley…"

"Fox Alley?"

Finnick looked surprised. "Nick never told you about it?"

"No. What is it?"

The little fox shrugged. "It's down by that bridge Nick was living under. Low-rent district, mainly foxes living there because nobody wants us living by them. Nick and me lived there for a while when we first met, in a crummy boarding house that makes your place look like a palace. Then he decided he wanted to live someplace nicer...look, what difference does it make? It's a bad part of town with a lot of foxes. And it's a good place to go if you don't want to get caught for hurting foxes."

Judy's nose twitched. "What do you mean, not get caught? The ZPD has jurisdiction over the whole city."

"Yeah, but you can't investigate crimes if they ain't reported," said Finnick shrewdly. "You don't even know about this part of town. You think the other cops care about it even if they know?" Judy was silent, remembering how Bogo had been unwilling to trust the word of a fox the night Manchas went savage, and Finnick shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You stay here and I'll go check out my customers. I'm betting some of them got beat up or something, or they know about a fox or two that got attacked."

"I'm going with you."

"Not to Fox Alley you ain't," said Finnick strongly. "They wouldn't talk to you anyway."

Judy drew herself up to her full height, a little over a foot taller than Finnick, and snapped, "If you leave without me I'll just follow you. In uniform. How would that look, a cop tailing you?" Finnick swore and Judy turned red, but after he ran out of breath she said stubbornly, "I'm going _with_ you in plain clothes or _behind_ you in uniform. Which'll it be?"

"Fine!" Finnick threw up his paws. "You can come but I do the talking? Got it?"

She nodded and they headed out, driving several miles before she asked quietly, "What happened when Nick wanted to move out of Fox Alley?"

"What?" Finnick stared straight ahead.

The bunny sighed. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but you did mention it. You said you and Nick were living in a boarding house and then he wanted to live somewhere nicer. What happened? When I met you two, you were living in your van and Nick was living under a bridge."

The little fox sighed. "Remember Nick telling you he made two hundred dollars a day hustling? We didn't make nowhere near that, but we didn't do so bad. He was giving a lot of his money to that orphanage, but he mostly put the rest of it aside. So did I. We didn't really have anything to spend it on. Then one day he gets it in his head to move uptown. Nothing too fancy, just someplace with trees and better places to eat. I tried to warn him but he wouldn't listen to me." Finnick drove in moody silence for a few minutes, then said slowly, "Nobody would even give us a rental application. And we got picked up for vagrancy and spent the night in jail, _and_ we got beat up." He glanced over at Judy and saw her eyes melting with sympathy and snarled, "Don't look at me like that! I don't need your pity."

"I'm sorry, Finnick," whispered the bunny. "I never knew about any of this."

"Yeah, well, now you do," he said grimly. "We didn't want to go back to Fox Alley, so I lived in my van and Nick lived under that bridge. It wasn't too bad. It wasn't great, but we managed."

"You're managing better now," Judy ventured.

"Yeah, Nick's a cop and I own a business," said Finnick glumly, "but that's mostly just dumb luck." He turned pensive. "Remember how you got that elephant to sell us the jumbo pop? You threatened him with health code violations. Now if there was a law said he couldn't treat foxes like that, maybe a law said everybody had to be treated equal…"

"Maybe you should talk to the mayor about it," Judy suggested.

The little fox scoffed, "Why would the mayor give me the time of day?"

"Because Nick and me saved his son's life."

Finnick looked interested. "You really think he'd listen to me?"

"You'll never know if you don't try. Do you want to talk to Mayor Burney?"

"Yeah," mused Finnick. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."


	7. Chapter 7

Fox Alley was a bleak area of narrow streets and crumbling buildings where unsupervised young foxes ran through the streets and older animals, mostly foxes, sat on the steps of their buildings, smoking and glowering at anyone who walked past. Cars with broken windows, some of them up on blocks, lined the streets and there were no trees and green lawns like in other parts of town.

"I can see why you didn't want to live here," said Judy.

Finnick shrugged. "It ain't as bad as it looks. Animals here look out for each other. Somebody needs food or a place to stay, there's always someone steps up. Everybody here is just so poor, and it's hard for a fox to find a good job." He pulled out his notebook and checked the first address, then drove slowly down the street, stopping in front of a shabby three-story building. "You better come in. This ain't no place for a rabbit to hang out on the street."

Judy got out of the van and a red fox walking past gave her a hard look. She stopped, confused, and the fox snorted and kept going. "I thought you said it wasn't that bad, Finnick."

"It ain't, if you're a fox. Well, come on. It's the third floor."

They trudged up the stairs and down a dark hallway until Finnick found the number he was looking for and knocked on the door. A big grey fox opened the door and smiled. "Finn! What you doing here?" He saw Judy in the shadows behind Finnick and his ears went back. "She with you?"

Finnick pushed past the fox. "Yeah, Kyle, she's with me. You heard about that fox cop getting shot? She's his partner."

Kyle looked dubious but allowed Judy in. "What do you care about that cop? They never did nothing for us."

"That cop's one of the few friends I have in the world," said Finnick. "The shooter was driving a big red car. I figure he didn't start off with a gun. Way I see it, he probably went after some other foxes and when he got away with it, he stepped up to shooting."

"That don't got nothing to do with me," said the grey fox.

"No?" Finnick shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just remember, this animal shot a cop. You think he's going to stop there? You think he won't start driving around looking for more foxes to shoot? And this is where he'll come."

Kyle looked uncomfortable. "When you put it that way...look, I did hear about a fox getting beat up real bad." He scribbled a name and address on a piece of paper and handed it to Finnick. "For what it's worth I'm sorry about your friend."

"Thanks." Finnick pocketed the paper. "Let's go, Judy."

She followed Finnick to the door and Kyle said, "Wait a minute." He went up to the bunny and gave her a hard look like the fox on the street. "You really work with that fox that got shot?" Judy nodded. "You don't got a problem working with him?"

"No." Judy's eyes filled with tears. "Nick is...he's…"

Finnick stepped in front of her and snarled at Kyle, "That's enough. She don't got to explain herself to you."

Kyle considered the bristling fennec fox and the bunny on the verge of breaking down. "Hang on." He went in the kitchen and came back with a little box. "Here."

Judy took the box. "Tea?"

"Yeah," said the grey fox. "My girlfriend makes me drink it when I'm upset. Says it's good for the nerves."

The bunny put out a paw. "Thank you, mister…"

"You can call me Kyle." He gave Judy's paw a brief shake. "I hope your partner will be okay."

Judy nodded, unable to trust her voice, and went out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Judy and Finnick spent the rest of the day questioning one fox after another. Like Kyle, many of Finnick's customers referred them to other foxes, some of whom were able to confirm the animal that attacked them was an elephant in a bright red car with spinning hubcaps. No one had caught the license plate number, and by late afternoon Judy's head was beginning to ache. Neither she nor Finnick had eaten anything all day and in addition to hunger, she was worried about Nick and upset at how she was received in the homes of foxes who were deeply distrustful of a bunny cop. Finnick was treated with kindness and sympathy but Judy was regarded with wariness. A few foxes were like Kyle and warmed up to her when they realized how distraught she was about Nick, but most of them didn't even want her in their house and it showed. After one fox made her stand in the hall while he talked to Finnick, Judy said dispiritedly, "I think I've had enough for one day."

Finnick wasn't blind to the way his fellow foxes looked at his companion and it was taking a toll on him too. "One more stop? I just got the name of a fox that was hit by a car. Sounds like our elephant."

"Fine. One more stop, then we go." Judy's voice trembled. "I want to go back to the hospital."

"Okay." Finnick consulted the address he'd been given, drove a few blocks, and parked the van. "Why don't you stay here? You go in the back, no one'll bother you." The bunny shook her head wearily and Finnick shrugged. They went up to the apartment and he knocked on the door, waited, and knocked again.

"Just a minute!" A cheery arctic fox opened the door, smiling brightly. "You here to see Mr Renard?"

Finnick nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. Come on in." She held the door open and gestured to the fox to enter, then smiled at Judy. "Don't just stand there, honey."

Judy smiled back uncertainly. "Thank you. Are you Mr Renard's…"

"I'm Thelma, his nurse," said the fox briskly.

Finnick's eyebrows went up. "His _nurse_?"

A silver fox in a wheelchair, both legs in casts, rolled into the room. "She's not a nurse, she's a bully. I don't know why the insurance company stuck me with her. I can manage just fine by myself."

"Is that so?" Thelma looked down her nose at Renard. "You can't even reach the stove to fix yourself something to eat."

"I can order takeout," he grumbled.

She shook her head, grinning. "These folks are here to see you. Put on your company manners or your sponge bath just might be ice cold."

She bustled off to the kitchen and he shouted after her, "You talk like that would be something new!" He winked at Finnick. "She's not a bad old girl. Just way too bossy. Won't let me smoke, can't have any beer...well, I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in a wheelchair."

"That's what we're here to talk to you about," said Finnick. "You heard about that fox cop getting shot?"

"Of course." Renard looked puzzled. "What does that have to do with me?"

"He's my partner," said Judy softly.

The silver fox cocked his head. "A rabbit and a fox?" His eyes widened. "Say, I remember reading something about you when the Nighthowler story broke. I was in the country on an assignment, couldn't get back in time. Officer Hopps, right?"

"That's right," said Judy. "You're a reporter?"

"A photographer. I would have loved to do a spread on you and your partner." Renard's eyes dropped. "How is your partner? Is he going to be okay?"

Judy shook her head, turning away, and Finnick said quietly, "It's still touch and go."

"I'm truly sorry," said Renard, "but I still don't understand what any of this has to do with me."

"He was shot by someone, probably an elephant, in a red car."

Renard said excitedly, "That's how I got hurt! An elephant in a red car hit me. Deliberately. I was crossing the street, and I saw the car but I had the light. And he didn't stop, he sped up. Hit me so hard he knocked me right across the street and kept going."

Judy had herself under control again. "Did you report it?"

"I did, but I didn't have the license plate number and there are a lot of red cars in Zootopia. So far they haven't located it."

Finnick and Judy exchanged a glance, then the little fox said, "Thanks for your time," and started for the door.

"Now wait a minute," said Renard. "At the time I didn't have the license plate number. Turns out one of my neighbors saw the car that hit me."

Judy brightened. "Can we talk to your neighbor?"

Renard shook his head. "She has emotional problems. After seeing what happened, she kind of had a breakdown. She's a little better now." The silver fox pushed his chair over to a desk and started rummaging. "Her husband came to see me tthough. She got the license plate number. She even wrote it down that first day. She was just too afraid to say anything." He held up a piece of paper. "Here it is. I left a message for the officer in charge of my case but he hasn't got back to me yet. I might as well give it to you, Officer Hopps."

She took the paper and read it, then showed it to Finnick. His eyes glittered. "She sure about that?"

"Yes," said Renard soberly. "As I said, she has emotional problems. There's nothing wrong with her eyes. Or her memory. Her husband asked her about it and she's sure that's what the plate said."

Judy put out a paw and Renard shook it. "Thank you, sir. You don't know what this means to me."

"Just get him off the street," said the silver fox.

Thelma had been listening at the kitchen door. "I second that!"

"He's not going to hurt any more foxes," said the bunny softly. "That's a promise."


	9. Chapter 9

Finnick watched intently as Judy punched in the license plate. "KLLFXS." They waited for the computer to process the request, then a name and address popped up on the screen. They peered at it and Judy said grimly, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Jerry Jumbeaux III." Finnick looked keenly at Judy. "You know him?"

"Jerry Jumbeaux Jr is that jerk elephant who didn't want to sell Nick a jumbo pop. Look at the business address the car is registered to. This must be his son." Judy wrote down the information and closed the computer. "Let's go."

They walked out of the ZPD into the dusk of early evening and Judy pulled out her phone. "I just have to make a quick call and this will all be over."

Finnick frowned. "Who you calling?"

"Mr Big." Judy started as the little fox snatched the phone away from her. "Give me that," she snarled, her voice low and feral.

Finnick's hackles rose. He hadn't even known a bunny could sound like that and he backed away. "You ain't getting Mr Big involved in this."

Judy visibly fought to control herself. "Mr Big is already involved. I called him after Nick was shot and he promised to take care of whoever did it. It won't come back on us. Nobody will ever know what happened to Jerry III. He'll just disappear."

"So you wasn't just trying to find who shot Nick? You was planning to kill them all along?"

Judy's eyes turned dark. "He deserves it. He killed Nick."

"Nick ain't dead."

"He's going to die, Finnick. You know it as well as I do."

Judy tried to edge closer and the fox took another step back. "I _don't_ know that," Finnick said fiercely. "All's I know is if he makes it or not, you do this, you'll break Nick's heart." Judy blinked, taken aback, and the little fox pressed his advantage. "I never seen nobody turn their life around like Nick did and it's because of you, Judy. He cares about you. Remember that press conference? He came to me after that and it was a week before I could get him to eat anything, he was so depressed. Now you want to hurt him again?"

"He'll never know anything about it." Judy's voice quivered and Finnick came closer.

"You do this and it'll change you. _That's_ what'll hurt him. He'll see you're different and it'll tear him apart." Finnick handed over the phone. "Even if he don't make it, you won't be the bunny he knew. You'll be someone he wouldn't even recognize. You want that?"

The bunny considered the little fox for a long moment, then dialed the phone. "Get me Mr Big." Finnick's ears drooped. "Mr Big? It's Judy. Yeah, I found him." She hesitated, staring into Finnick's eyes, then said firmly, "I want him to go to prison. And I want him to stay alive there." She listened, then said, "Yes, I'm sure. I know what I said before. I changed my mind. I want to do this the right way...for Nick's sake." She hung up the phone and bent to hug Finnick.

He returned the hug very briefly, then gently pushed her away. "Okay, Judy, let's go see Nick."


	10. Chapter 10

Judy and Finnick joined paws before the elevator doors opened, the memory of the last time they walked onto the fifth floor overwhelming them. Mercifully everything was quiet this time but the oryx nurse on duty called to them, "I'm sorry, Officer Hopps, but visiting hours are over."

"Couldn't you call Dr Furrier and ask him if we could see Nick? Just for a minute?" Judy looked pleadingly at the nurse, and Finnick slipped away and went down to Nick's room. The bear on duty had seen him get off the elevator with Judy and allowed him in, murmuring sympathetically.

It was the first time he had been alone with his friend since the shooting. Nick's chest was bandaged, he had an IV in one arm, and a monitor next to his bed beeped softly. Finnick swallowed hard, then pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. "You know you got to get better, Nick. That bunny can't handle losing you." Finnick hesitated, then said very softly, "Don't know if I can either. I never told you about my little brother, did I? Tod. Good kid. He got sick and the damn doctors just let him die and he was the only family I had in the world. You're about the age he would be if he lived. Remember how you went after that cop beating me up? That's just what Tod would have done. I ain't saying you're like a brother to me…" Nick's face went out of focus as Finnick's eyes filled with tears and the little fox put his head down on the bed, all but paralyzed with grief and fear. Suddenly he felt incredibly weary and he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Judy hurried into the room. "Finnick?"

Nick's eyes opened and turned to her and he said weakly, "Shhh, Carrots. You'll wake the baby."

"Nick!" The bunny went to his side and put her paws on his shoulder, her eyes shining. "How do you feel?"

"Not so good," he whispered. "What happened? I was playing catch with Eddie."

"You were shot." The fox's eyes widened and Judy said reassuringly, "I just talked to the doctor and he said you're going to be okay. And you don't have to worry. I got the elephant that did it."

"Is Eddie okay?"

Nick's voice was fading and Judy said soothingly, "He's fine. You just rest now." He sighed and closed his eyes and she watched him sleep for a little while before shaking Finnick lightly by the arm. "Finnick?"

"What?" The little fox sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Guess I dozed off for a minute."

"That's okay." Judy smiled at him. "The doctor's on his way and he said Nick is a lot better. He's going to be all right!"

"Told you, didn't I?" Finnick said crankily.

"I know." Their eyes locked, the thought of Mr Big and how close Judy had come to crossing a line uppermost in both their minds. Judy wanted to tell Finnick how much it meant to her that he had kept her from that line, but in the end all she could manage was a single word. "Thanks."


	11. Chapter 11

Nick's bed was in a seated position and he was staring out the window when Judy came in. "You're looking better."

"I don't feel better," he whined. "I'm starving."

She went over to him. In the week since he had woken up, he had regained enough strength to get off IVs and onto solid food, but the object on the plate in front of him baffled her. "Is that what they gave you for lunch today?"

"No." Nick regarded it mournfully. "Clawhauser was here with his girlfriend Jenny. You remember she's a vegan, right? She took my lunch away and gave me that."

The bunny's nose twitched. "What is it?"

"It's a fat-free salt-free sugar-free gluten-free vegan protein cake."

"Did you try unwrapping it?"

"It's not wrapped." The fox shook a carton of juice next to the plate. "And this is pure brussel sprout juice."

Judy bit back a smile. "I'll get rid of it but you have to promise not to tell Jenny."

"You take it away and I'll promise whatever you want," said Nick fervently.

She carried the plate and juice over to the door and handed it to Danny Fleck, the leopard cop on duty, then came back and gave Nick a gentle nudge. "Scoot over."

He moved and she climbed up on the bed and settled herself next to him. "I thought you might be ready for something other than hospital food, so…" She had a small backpack and he watched eagerly as she opened it. "Blueberry pie from Angie, blueberry pudding from the juice bar, grilled veggies and tortillas, and iced chai tea."

Nick regarded the spread on his tray table with a beatific smile. "You know I love you, right?"

"Do I know that?" Judy smiled back. "Yes. Yes, I do." She handed him a fork and he started on the pie.

"Danny told me when his shift is up there won't be a guard on my door any more."

Judy wrapped a tortilla around grilled vegetables and took a bite. "You don't need a guard now. Jerry Jumbeaux III is on his way to the maximum security wing at Stormford for twenty-five years to life."

"No trial?" Nick washed the pie down with a gulp of tea and picked up a tortilla.

"Oh, his father wanted to get the best lawyers in Zootopia," said Judy disgustedly. "He taught his son to hate foxes his whole life, then when he goes out trying to kill foxes, Jerry Junior acted like he had no idea why his kid would be like that. You should have seen him, one minute saying foxes are nothing but trouble and the next that he had always taught his son to respect everyone and if Jerry III had done anything, it must be because he had some kind of mental problem so he shouldn't go to prison."

"So what happened?" Nick finished his tortilla and started on the vegetables.

"What happened was the district attorney showed Jerry all the evidence against his son." Judy took a sip of the tea. "You know you're not the only victim, right?" Nick nodded and dipped a spoon in the blueberry pudding. "Jerry III shot you, he ran over another fox, and he was going around beating up foxes in Fox Alley. There were over a dozen victims, plenty of witnesses, and he used his father's gun on you so Jerry Junior could have been charged as an accessory. I doubt that would have held up, Junior never went beyond spewing hate at foxes, he never actually _did_ anything to a fox, but the district attorney threatened to charge him too, so Jerry III asked for a deal to keep his father out of trouble."

"Gotta give him props for that." Nick finished the blueberry pudding and drank some more tea.

Judy's eyes turned dark. "I don't have to give him anything but a promise he's going to live a very long time in prison."

Nick changed the subject. "How do you like the flowers?"

His room was filled with bouquets and baskets of flowers and Judy smiled. "Who are they from?

"Seems like everybody. ZPD, the Ottertons, Mayor Burney, Flash and Priscilla, even Yax sent a plant." Nick's eyes twinkled. "It's not exactly legal but so far nobody's thrown it out."

"I see Eddie's bear has company." There was a pile of stuffed animals on the table next to the bed.

"Yeah, every time Sister Margaret comes, she brings another toy from the kids. I guess they think I'm bored and I should have something to play with."

"Has Finnick been to see you?"

Nick shook his head. "Finn's not the visiting type." He went on hastily, "It's not that he doesn't care..."

Judy cut him off. "You don't have to explain Finnick to me. He had me stay at his place when you…" Her voice shook. "You know it was really bad, right? You almost didn't make it."

The fox put his arm around the bunny. "I'm a survivor. Always have been, Carrots."

"Just don't ever scare me like this again." Judy snuggled against Nick, then sat up and said briskly, "Finnick took me around Fox Alley until we found someone who could identify Jerry III." She paused, the little fox's voice in her head. _"...you do this, you'll break Nick's heart...it'll change you...You'll be someone he wouldn't even recognize. You want that?"_ She smiled a little. "Finnick really cares about you, you know."

"I know you would have to torture him horribly to get him to admit it," chuckled Nick.

"I'm just glad he was with me," said Judy soberly. "Things wouldn't have turned out right if he hadn't been there." Nick looked at her curiously and she shook her head. "Did you have enough to eat?"

"Yes, but…" Nick looked sheepish. "Do you think you could bring something for supper? It's kind of hard to get better on hospital food."

Judy packed the remains of their lunch away and got down from the bed. "As long as you get better, I'll bring you whatever you want."


	12. Chapter 12

_One week later:_

Finnick pulled up in front of the Thorneycroft Orphan's Home and got out of the van to open Nick's door. "Need some help?"

The red fox rolled his eyes. "I can walk by myself, Finn. You don't have to baby me."

"See that?" Finnick nodded towards the porch where Judy and Sister Margaret were waiting, surrounded by children. "You put a paw wrong and they're going to be all over me."

Nick got out of the van. "Just stay close." They went slowly up the walk and stopped at the stairs. "Give me a minute."

"Nick!" Eddie evaded Sister Margaret and ran down the stairs. "You got better!"

"Sure I did." Nick smiled. "Thanks for the bear."

"Did you bring him back?"

"I brought all the toys back." The red fox looked at the stairs. "Want to give me a paw?"

Eddie looked up at Sister Margaret and she smiled and nodded. "Okay. What do I do?"

"Just let me lean on you a little." Nick looked at Finnick and the little fox moved in and supported his friend as they started up the stairs, one of Nick's paws resting lightly on Eddie's shoulder. They made it to the top and Nick went over to the porch swing and sat down to catch his breath. "Thanks, Eddie."

"No problem," said the little possum proudly.

The other children swarmed around the swing and Sister Margaret clapped her paws. "Be careful. Nicholas is still getting better." She smiled at the fox. "I made blueberry cobbler just the way you like it and lunch is ready whenever you want it." The badger went inside, shooing the children in front of her.

Judy and Finnick sat down in the porch swing with Nick and the bunny rested her head for a moment on her partner's shoulder. "You have no idea how good it is to see you out of the hospital."

"You have no idea how good it is to _be_ out of the hospital," he said earnestly. "I asked the doc when I could get back to work but he said it would still be a while. And Bogo wants me to take some extra time before I come back."

"Good!" Judy sat up. "You can help Finnick and the mayor."

Nick was startled. "Finn and Mayor Burney?"

"Didn't you tell him, Finnick?" asked Judy exasperatedly. The little fox shrugged and she gave him a look. "Fox Alley is a terrible place, Nick. You should have told me about it."

"And what would you have done?" he asked pointedly. "It's been like that since before I was born."

"Well, it's going to be different. I set up a meeting with Finnick and the mayor and now there's an action committee to work on improving things there. And you'll never guess who's in charge." Judy giggled. "Leodore Lionheart!"

"I thought he was still in prison," said Nick.

"No, he got out early for good behavior. He didn't have any qualifications for a real job, so Mayor Burney made him an aide. And Lionheart was very interested in the problem of Fox Alley, so the mayor said he could work on it."

"I doubt it will make much difference, Carrots," said Nick dubiously. "You think if Fox Alley got fixed up it would stop animals like Jerry Jumbeaux?"

"No, I think there will always be animals like him. You can't stop animals who _want_ to hate." Judy paused, then went on thoughtfully, "I think if the foxes work with Lionheart and don't expect the mayor to do everything for them, it'll get better. I talked to Mayor Burney too, Finnick, about something you said."

"I say a lot of things," the little fox grumbled.

"You said there aren't laws against discriminating against foxes. Maybe there should be. Mayor Burney wants to talk to both of you. Maybe you can find a few other foxes to go with you and let him know how foxes are treated." Judy reached in her pocket and pulled out a container of fox repellent. "Maybe start with this. Foxes are the only animals that have specific repellent. It should be for criminals, not species."

Nick took the repellent. "That's a good idea. When does the mayor want to see us?"

"There's no hurry." Judy stood up. "He's giving Lionheart a couple of weeks to go around Fox Alley with Matt Renard. You remember him, Finnick. He's the photographer that Jerry III hit with his car. He got his casts off, and he's going to help Lionheart do a report with photographs of the most urgent issues in Fox Alley. After the mayor gets the report he'll get in touch with you but he wants you to be well first, Nick."

"Sounds good." Nick rested his head against the back of the swing and closed his eyes. "Right now I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"I'm going to go see how lunch is coming." Nick nodded and Judy went inside.

"Now I got all this extra work," said Finnick crankily. "It ain't enough I got the garage, now Judy expects me to fix up Fox Alley."

Nick smiled a little. "She's something else, isn't she?" He opened his eyes. "It's good you were looking out for her, Finn."

"I didn't do nothing."

"I got a call from Mr Big this morning while I was waiting for you." Nick waited for a response but Finnick was determinedly silent and after a moment the red fox went on. "He told me to let Judy know if she ever changed her mind back to give him a call. You know anything about that?"

"Nope." Finnick stood up and stretched.

Nick contemplated his friend, then said quietly, "I got the feeling whatever it was she changed her mind about, it wasn't good. If you kept her out of trouble, that's a pretty big debt I owe you. Again."

"Told you I don't know nothing about it," Finnick snapped. "Ain't you hungry yet?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry." Nick stood up, swaying, and Finnick steadied him. "Thanks, Finn. You're a good friend. More than a friend." Their eyes met. "You're like a brother to me too."


End file.
